Is it time for a new Airshow announcer?

i disagree i look foward to the announcer every year just for the vast amount of information he has about the planes...

just my 2cents

Hi Dave,

Actually there is a team of announcers that handle duties during the air show.

Roscoe Morton has been on the announcer's stand for many years and he shares duties with Danny Clisham, Dave Keim and Rob Reider, along with several others.

Is there something specifically that you'd like to see (or hear) changed?

Steve

Keep 'Em!

Their the best I've heard.  That is, when I can hear them.  But that's another topic.

Hi Dave

I've seen the team of announcers change naturally over time (like back to the Rockford days) due to conflicting schedules, declining health, etc... but they've always I've been the best I've seen anywhere.  Gone are the great voices of Nick Resich, Sonney Everet, Jim Hazlet, and don't forget "The Yodler" in the morning.

To demonstrate what it really takes to do a good job with the mike, a week after this years AirVenture, Danny Clishm single handedly announced the "Thunder Over Michigan" show at Willow Run Airport.  If it weren't for his knowledge, expertise, and all out people skills, it would have been a very disappointing event.  Compared to Oshkosh, it was slooooow moving show but he kept it interesting, people focused, and entertained with his vast experience and talent.

To EAAs credit, they will listen to you with an open mind if you think anything at AirVenture can be improved.  Thats how its gotten to be as good as it is.

Happy Landings 

John

Hi Guys,

  I guess I should have done some more homework. I didn't know there was a team of announcers, but that makes sense given the length of the show. I've heard Rob for the first time a couple of years ago at Thunder over Michigan and found him to be a fantastic announcer.

 I'm positive I heard the same announcer from EAA 1982 here this year, announcing for the Warbirds. If that's true, then I'm ready for a change. I'm ready for something or someone like Rob, new and exciting with a different take on the airplanes and performers. These guys have done a great job over the years, but hearing the same guy or guys from when I was 16 years old, to now when I'm 44 is long enough. 

I miss the yodeler waking me up in the morning, and I look forward to seeing and hearing Jerry's one man band, but the announcer is the mainstay of the Airshow. It's time for a change.

 Thanks for the comments and thoughts so far. I was hesitant to put this out there, but you guys have been civil and   thoughtful.

David

Hey, it's taken this long for Roscoe to finally say "Airventure" rather than "Airaventure" each time.

(which just reinforces how much I dislike that name.     To everyone from outside Wisconsin, it's still Oshkosh.    To the locals it's "The EAA").

Hi David,

It's interesting how everyone has their own personal outlook on things.  Me, I don't miss the Yodeler at all, and I'm ready for Jerry to take his "one man band" somewhere else!  The announcers, on the other hand, don't bother me.  But maybe that's because I'm seldom in a  spot where I can hear them, and even if I were I'd probably be talking with someone and not paying attention to the announcers anyway.

Each to their own I guess, and further proof that no matter what happens someone will be unhappy while others will be pleased.  It's a tough crowd!!

Cheers!

Joe

My cousin said the same thing last year (although it was his first AirVenture) but I disagree... The announcer almost feels like family now...lol   

Now I know he's only reading the script (info) that the Warbirds or whoever give him, but some of the stuff is drivel (and a little research shows to be false) and some of it is way incomplete.   This year they "reenacted" the Cornelia Fort incident the attack on Pearl Harbor without ever mentioning her name.   This for a woman who would go on to DIE IN THE SERVICE OF HER COUNTRY in the WAFS.

At least the national anthem singer stopped trying to stretch that last note out to match the parachutist landing.

Agggh,

I stopped by just to see if Jerry was still around. That guy brings me back to when I was 6 walking out of the campground to see the show. I still don't see what in the heck Jerry does that someone would wish him gone, he is one of the last things that represents what EAA used to be.

Dave, I do agree to some extent that for the warbird shows some new information could be a plus. It almost seems like a recording every day, every year......It has gotten repetitive to listen to.

I have found myself  tuning out the announcer during shows. I would much rather listen to Wayne Boggs on the radio, A true master of the profession.

I wonder if the warbird guys gave the announcers a script (like the aerobatic performers do) if things would be different?

Rob Reider is great, and I have worked with the Dacy crew (also great) but you really miss what you are used to when you hear an announcer that isnt with it. I have been to a half dozen shows this year that really could use half of what AirVenture has to offer.

Thanks guys for your thoughts. I actually thought more people would be up for a change, but it doesn't seem that way. Airventure is a wonderful experience and I guess I'll man-up and bring my I-pod so I can tune the announcer out. If the majority likes it, then they must be doing something right. If the EAA is watching these threads, please make sure your announcers know the airplanes and not make things up to fill airtime.

Thanks,

David

I agree that Roscoe is like family, and that Jerry's One Man Band is a lingering taste of the old EAA.  They're both wonderful, just like the cloggers, yodlers, and fiddlers at Theater in the Woods.

Even that lady that does the National Anthem and tries in vain to time the last note with the flag retrieval makes me a little nostalgic.  I love OSH, in part, because it's homey, corney, honest, and not at all ironic. 

Hi John.... Thank you for remembering some of the "voices" of Oshkosh over the years. It was my pleasure to be at the evening airshow mic from 1973 thru 1990 (some 18 years inclusive). And yes, many of us have moved-on for  reasons you mention... from career obligations to the current economic situation, etc.

I'm still out there on the airshow circuit, mostly east coast from Maine to Florida, and of course promoting sport aviation and "Airventure" Oshkosh whenever the opportunity arises.

Regards,  Sonny Everett